Saint Mary's University

About: Saint Mary's University is a education organization based out in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Stars. The organization has 1931 authors who have published 4993 publications receiving 143226 citations.

Assessing the Reliability of Situational Judgment Tests Used in High-Stakes Situations

Abstract: Assessing reliability of situational judgment tests (SJTs) in high-stakes situations is problematic with reliability inappropriately measured by Cronbach's alpha when test items are heterogeneous. We computed the corrected, weighted mean alpha from 56 alpha coefficients, which produced a value of α = .46 and reviewed appropriate types of reliability to use with SJTs. In the current longitudinal study, SJT test–retest reliability was r = .82, compared with internal consistency, α = .46, and stratified alpha, α = .45 at Time 1 and α = .52 and stratified α = .51 at Time 2. We used a student sample (Time 1: n = 185; Time 2: n = 132) with items from a credentialing exam with ‘should do’ instructions. The SJT correlated significantly with cognitive ability, r = .30, and agreeableness, r = .24. In Study 2, we assessed test–retest reliability with Human Resource professionals (Time 1: n = 94; Time 2: n = 32) who had been recently credentialed and who participated in a pilot test of new SJT items with ‘most likely/least likely do’ response options. The SJT test–retest reliability was r = .66 compared with internal consistency, α = .43 and stratified α = .47 at Time 1 and α = .61 and stratified α = .67 at Time 2. We discuss the theoretical implications of the Study 1 results as well as the practical implications for use of SJTs in credentialing examinations.

Examining Type A behavior pattern to explain the relationship between job stressors and psychosocial outcomes.

Abstract: Despite cautions against using a global measure of Type A behavior pattern (TABP), few studies have examined the TABP components of Achievement Striving (AS) and Impatience/Irritability (II). The authors examined these 2 components to assess whether they moderated the relationships between job stressors and psychosocial outcomes. Results based on 106 employees from a large Canadian organization supported the independence of the 2 TABP components. After controlling for the job stressors (i.e., overload, ambiguity, intrarole conflict, and lack of job control), II and AS accounted for additional variance in job satisfaction, perceived stress, and life satisfaction, although these components were uniquely related to different outcomes. Finally, AS and II moderated several of the stressor-psychosocial outcome relationships.

The shape of beauty: determinants of female physical attractiveness.

Abstract: Rarely has one research area gained as much attention as that which is observed for female physical attractiveness. The past decade has resulted in numerous, exciting developments, particularly with respect to three proposed determinants of beauty: waist to hip ratio (WHR), body mass index (BMI), and curvaceousness. The goal of our paper is to provide a highly necessary review of contemporary research on the female attractiveness, including an in-depth examination of these factors. In our review, we first discuss WHR, an index of fat deposition, which is calculated by measuring the circumference of the waist compared to the circumference of the hips. WHR is controlled by the sex hormones, and increases as women age, and hence, may influence perceptions of attractiveness. This factor has been hotly contested, as some researchers have claimed that a WHR of approximately 0.7 is universally most attractive, whereas others have found inconsistent findings, or suggest the importance of other factors, such as BMI. Body mass index (BMI), calculated by dividing the body weight (in kilograms) by height (in meters) squared, serves as a measure of body fat. Although WHR and BMI are correlated, they lead to different conclusions, and the importance of BMI as a measure of female attractiveness is debated in the literature. Similar to WHR research, BMI and its role in attractiveness is not cross-culturally consistent and is affected by the availability of resources within a given environment. It may be the case that both WHR and BMI influence female attractiveness. However, there has been little investigation of this possibility. We have explored this issue in our research, which revealed that both influence attractiveness, but in addition, we noticed that curvaceousness was also a factor. Curvaceousness is the degree of "hourglass" shape as determined, for example, by the size of the bust, relative to the circumference of the hips and waist, and the size of the buttocks. However, curvaceousness does not appear to be temporally stable as a marker of attractiveness, and it is not consistent across modes of presentation. For example, models in male-oriented magazines are more curvaceous than models in female-oriented magazines. In summary, faced with these recent findings, it is difficult to ascertain agreement among the various factors, especially when researchers investigate each determinant in isolation. We conclude that, although researchers have made many important initial steps in examining female attractiveness, there remains much to be discovered.

Observations of Cepheids with the MOST satellite: contrast between pulsation modes

Abstract: The quantity and quality of satellite photometric data strings is revealing details in Cepheid variation at very low levels. Specifically, we observed a Cepheid pulsating in the fundamental mode and one pulsating in the first overtone with the Canadian MOST satellite. The 3.7-d period fundamental mode pulsator (RT Aur) has a light curve that repeats precisely, and can be modeled by a Fourier series very accurately. The overtone pulsator (SZ Tau, 3.1 d period) on the other hand shows light curve variation from cycle to cycle which we characterize by the variations in the Fourier parameters. We present arguments that we are seeing instability in the pulsation cycle of the overtone pulsator, and that this is also a characteristic of the O −C curves of overtone pulsators. On the other hand, deviations from cycle to cycle as a function of pulsation phase follow a similar pattern in both stars, increasing after minimum radius. In summary, pulsation in the overtone pulsator is less stable than that of the fundamental mode pulsator at both long and short timescales.